DIY The Best Natural Shampoo – Soap Nuts!
What the heck is a soap nut? Is it a nut? Is it soap? It’s both! A soap nut is well… a nut that has the saponin chemical constituent. When you let them sit in water, they turn into a soap that you can use for just about anything! You can use it the laundry, to wash dishes, and even for shampoo.
The most common way people use soap nuts is by tossing them in the washing machine to act as an all natural laundry detergent. You can find company’s selling them just for this purpose (but don’t be fooled! All soap nuts are the same and these company’s sell them for a hefty price). I have used soap nuts in this way and love it! It didn’t leave a weird smell on my clothes (soap nuts have an interesting smell) and left them nice and fresh.
My favorite way to use soap nuts though, is in my hair! I started experimenting with this when I wanted to switch from my coconut oil shampoo because it was making my hair too oily. I thought about paying a ton of money to buy some “all natural” shampoos but they still had toxic ingredients in them.
Why Would you Want to use Soap Nuts Anyway?
Have you ever read the back of you shampoo bottle? Do you really know what any of those ingredients are or what they can do to you? Some toxic ingredients in shampoo include:
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) – A foaming agent that “easily penetrates the skin and can circulate in the body for up to five days, leaving residues in the heart, liver, lungs, and brain.” It can also cause hair loss!
- Parabens – Parabens are a huge one to avoid if you every want to get pregnant! This can cause reproductive damage and has been linked to causing breast cancer.
- Fragrances – They may smell nice but they have a bad side. Fragrances can include a range of hundreds of different chemicals. “These are highly toxic and can result in liver toxicity, damage to the central nervous system, allergies, brain fog, obesity, asthma, headache, contact dermatitis, organ toxicity, and cancer.” Is that all?
These are only three of the common chemicals found in shampoo. That is why I use an all natural “shampoo” that is found in nature and has no harmful chemicals. Plus it works way better than that fake garbage!
How to Make Soap Nut Shampoo
First, grab your soap nuts! I buy mine from Mountain Rose Herbs as they have the best prices.
Next, grab a muslin bag, or reusable tea bag that you have on hand. Put a handful of soap nuts into the bag and throw it in about 2 cups of water.
Let it boil for about 10 minutes until you have a light brown, oily mixture.
Pour it into a bowl and let it cool.
Once your soap is cool, it’s ready to be used! Some people like to blend it with a stick blender to make it foam, but I find that using it this way makes my hair much cleaner.
Don’t be freaked out by the smell. I was at first and didn’t want to put it all over my hair. But the smell doesn’t stay! Your hair will be nice and fresh once it dries. If you want, add a few drops of essential oils.
Now, hop in the shower! Wet down your hair and pour a small amount of the soap/water mixture onto your hair and rub. At this point you will probably think “okay? This isn’t doing anything.” But don’t give up! Soak your hair with the soap and then rinse. As you rinse keep scrubbing your hair to make sure get your hair squeaky clean. At this point I like to rinse my hair with 1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts water. This is optional though (but I highly recommend it as it gets rid of tangles and makes your hair shine)! The apple cider vinegar smell will also go away once your hair is dry.
Once you get out of the shower, style your hair as you normally would! When your hair dries you will be amazing by the outcome.
Since I have used soap nuts, my hair is less oily and I only need to wash my hair about every other day. A batch like this will also last me about 2 washes so I use only about a cup of soap water per wash.
I hope you enjoy this cheap, all natural shampoo! Please let me know if you try it out!
